Escape to the Unknown
by Trinxy
Summary: After her mother's death, everything became too much for Kate. She decides to do something crazy before she joins the Police Academy. Something that could soothe her mind. She escapes to the unknown. What will be there waiting for her. Or Who? Completely AU.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Kate was standing in the middle of the crowded airport, tiredness sinking into her bones. She had just gotten off a long haul flight and she felt like she desperately needed to sleep. It had been a 15 hour flight and whatever she told herself, she could not sleep in a crowded airplane specially if there was a crying infant next to her.

She knew what she had to do. As a preparation for this trip, she had researched all the information she could find about her visa and conditions. She needed to just go through the customs, get her bag and get the hell out of the airport.

But the queue was long and she wanted to growl at somebody. In fifteen minutes, the queue had lessened, thanks to the swift work of the customs agents. It was her time to step in there and get her documents checked. In the end, it took only two minutes to get everything approved and she was stepping out of the customs.

Her bag was waiting for her in the luggage area, somebody had already taken it out of the carousel. She snatched it quickly and made her way out of the terminal.

There was nobody greeting her. That much she knew.

She hadn't told anyone what she was planning to do. Her father vaguely knew but she hadn't shared much. It was her way of getting away from everything she had back home and it was better that people didn't know. This way, nobody was going to search for her and there would be no distractions. This was meant to be the year for herself – year of healing.

It had been only a year since her mother's death. It was still fresh. It was still hurting. Especially when she was trying to keep both herself and her father afloat. But it seemed that her father didn't want to be rescued. He didn't want any of her help. He was doing fine drinking himself into the ground. After she had seen her father go through one of these episodes again, she had tried to save him. She had done everything she could. But nothing had worked. It became too much for her.

That's when she made a decision to just ... escape. She needed something else to occupy her mind. She had quit university and was playing with the idea of applying for the Police Academy, but at the moment she knew she needed something else. Something that would heal her from her earthly wounds and make her feel better. That's why she had decided to apply for work and holiday visa for New Zealand.

When she got the approval, it took only two weeks to pack all of her things, move them to her father's place and pack her bags. And now she was here with a whole a lot of unknown facing her.

It felt cathartic and frightening at the same time and she didn't actually know which one she preferred more.

She vaguely knew where the bus station was, so that was her first goal – to get on the bus and drive to one of the suburbs of Auckland to find her accomodation. She had booked a room in one of the cheaper backpacker hostels and she was already regretting that decision. While she loved people around her, she wasn't sure she was ready to let anyone in to her personal space. And she knew that she was sharing the room with at least three other strangers.

The bus arrived swiftly and she made herself comfortable in one of the window side seats, making sure that her suitcase and big backpack were tucked away safely.

It was early summer evening in Auckland. The sun was still high up the sky and temperatures outside were quite normal for summer weather. Kate was already feeling slightly hot in her long jeans and cardigan. She hadn't prepared for this kind of warmth. It was still a cold-ish winter back home. So, that's what she had dressed for. She definitely needed a shower and change of clothes now.

Auckland was not like New York at all. Even though it was one of the biggest cities in New Zealand, it didn't even come close to the feel of it. The houses were mostly one storey high in here; rarely did she see something bigger. Well, when she was driving through the city centre area, there were few blocks of multi-storey buildings there but nothing compared to New York.

Thinking about the dirty streets and high buildings of her hometown, made her ache inside. One part of her wanted to go back. But the other half of her was yearning for an adventure. Something that was completely different what she had been used to so far. And it _was_ completely different, flying around 24 hours to get to the other side of the world was as close to the madness as one can get.

The bus stopped in front of her Backpackers hostel. She gathered her things and swiftly made out of the vehicle.

The lady in the reception was very nice and after a quick chat, Kate had a key for her room. Apparently this time of the year was supposed to be very busy for the hostels like this, but this was one of the few weekends that was not booked out. If she was lucky, she could have the whole dormitory to herself.

She opened the door to her room and collapsed to the bed. She sighed out loudly and her body protested when she was trying to get up from where she had fallen. She could feel the tiredness in her bones. Everything was catching up with her.

Eventually, she did manage to fish out her things from the bags and go have a quick shower before locking her suitcase and backpack away. After this, she allowed herself to fall sleep. She needed that more than anything. Everything else could wait. She needed this time for herself. Sleep, and relax.

And she slept like a log.

* * *

The next morning greeted her with heavy birdsong behind her closed windows. She could hear the weird sounds of the native birds and she opened her eyes. It was still somewhat dark in the room. She could make out the other beds though. And it was indeed like the lady in the reception had said – nobody had checked in except her.

Kate yawned loudly and stretched. Her bones were crackling with sudden tension. She smiled and breathed in the stale air of the room. She wrinkled her nose and rose from her bed. She opened the window to let the refreshing cold air to fill the room.

The air felt different in this place. To think about it, everything felt a little bit different in here. It wasn't home anymore.

She looked at her watch and realized that it was still in New York time. She had to change it. Luckily the room had a big clock on the wall so she could actually see that it was only seven in the morning and she quickly adjusted her own watch as well. Now she was all set.

After half an hour of getting ready for the day, she was sitting outside of her hostel, on a nearby bench.

She only had a vague idea what she wanted to do but, but she didn't know where to start. Everything was still closed in the early hours of the morning. So she took her map into her hand and she tried to figure out how she could reach the shoreline. To her surprise, she discovered that she was not far away from the beach and she rose from the bench and started walking there.

After a short 20 minute walk, she was at the empty beach. There was no people around. It made sense. It wasn't even yet 8 o'clock in the morning yet. Everybody were either sleeping at home or already on their way to work.

She walked straight to the waterfront and took off the flip flops she was wearing. Her white blouse and light grey wavy skirt were flopping in the light breeze. She walked all the way to the water and marvelled the feel of the cool ocean around her feet. The water was calm today and she could walk the shoreline without getting her clothes wet.

After hectic few weeks, it was one of the first days she had really _nothing_ to do. She was alone and had the beach all to herself.

It was a strange feeling – to do nothing. It felt like she had forgotten something. But however long she thought about it, she didn't forget anything. It was just overall strange feeling when one has nothing to do.

She was leisurely walking along the beach, glancing down at the pebbles and stones that lay everywhere. Suddenly she noticed this pale white stone just before her feet and she crouched down to pick it up. It was a tiny heart shaped stone with black stone etched into it. At first look, it looked like usual stones, but when she closely inspected the pebble, it reminded her of the image of yin and yang.

The balance.

She smiled and closed her hands around the stone. It was a good sign. A balance – this was exactly what she needed. Maybe this year could offer it to her?

She continued to walk down the beach until she saw other people slowly arriving at the beach as well.

It was getting closer to the afternoon, so it was about time to see somebody else there. She passed few lovely couples and some women just taking the same route as she had done before. They all greeted her with a simple "hi" or "how are you", with their strong kiwi accent. It was something new. Back in New York nobody did anything like that. Nobody cared. Everybody was minding their own business. But here, people noticed other people and they were quite friendly to start with. This made Kate smile – a thing she hadn't done in a while.

She looked at the sun and the lovely sight around the beach – she could see the other parts of the city further away, across the water and some green hillsides in the background. It was amazingly beautiful.

She smiled again and turned around to walk back into the direction she came from. She almost bumped into a man who had been walking behind her.

"Sorry," she mumbled.

"Ah, no worries," a few words in strong American accent came from the man, as she passed him with care.

She smiled faintly at this. _Great, another American. I do not need this right now._ She tried to quicken her pace in hope of distancing herself from him.

"Do you know you have gorgeous eyes," the man commented. She stopped for a second and looked back at him.

His blue eyes were shining as his dark hair were moving in the breeze, while a small lovely smile played on his lips.

"Thank you," she answered finally and turned to walk away again.

"Hey," she heard the man softly demanding her attention. And the he was coming closer she could hear the soft footsteps.

She sighed. She did not need this right now. He might have looked quite handsome, tall and dark, but she definitely did not need any complications in her life anymore. That included men also.

"Wait for a second," he pleaded.

She stopped and slowly turned around.

"I am sorry, I need to be somewhere," she apologized

He smiled at her when he caught up with her. He took in a long breath. "So no chance for a coffee and donuts?"

She shook her head. "I am sorry."

"Well, some other time maybe?" his voice was hopeful.

"Probably not, I am moving away from Auckland soon," she lied, standing uncomfortably in front of him.

The smile in his face faded. "Oh well."

He extended his arm to her and after a moment she did the same. Their hands met in a short handshake.

"It was nice to have met you," he said with a nice smile. And then he held up a stone in front of her.

It was a green stone, almost looked like jade.

"I found it in the beach. Maybe it will bring you luck," he said and dropped it to one of Kate's hands.

Kate was dumbfounded and too busy looking at the tiny green stone in her hand, so she didn't see him turn around and start to walk away.

He had reached quite far before she woke up from her momentary paralysis.

"Thank you!" she shouted to him.

He turned around for a second and waved and smiled at her. It was quite a disarming smile and Kate couldn't stop herself from smiling back.


	2. Chapter 2

The business with her documentation went surprisingly quickly. Within a few days, she already had her own New Zealand bank account and a tax number. To all intents and purposes, she was ready to find a work and start enjoying her stay in this amazing country. Not that she didn't enjoy it before.

In all honesty, she didn't have to look for a job. She still had some money she had saved from the University job she had and her dad had sent some money to her as well. When he was sober enough, he worried about her, so it was his way of showing it. Kate really didn't want to touch that money but she held onto it nevertheless, just in case.

It was a week after her arrival in Auckland and she was still in this gorgeous city. She had spent most of her days roaming around the city, looking for the sights that Lonely Planet had described. She of course found most of them and was incredibly happy. She already had a lot of pictures in her tiny camera and she knew that she had to stop taking pictures.

The camera had belonged to her mom, who had just purchased it shortly before her death. Kate's dad didn't want anything to do with it, so Kate had just taken it. She would not have been able to afford it so easily by herself but she was glad she had it now. She had purposefully left her mom's favorite camera at home, the one that still had film in it. She didn't know if she had time and money for the pictures and this new digital camera was much more compact than her mom's favorite camera.

It was time for Kate to move on from Auckland. Of course she loved to be in the city and close to the beach and the blue clear water, but she needed to go somewhere more quiet. She wanted to see this beautiful country about which she had only heard stories. She had read a lot of suggestions from Lonely Planet and she had decided to go to the middle of North Island first. There were three big mountains there, still active volcanoes and she wanted to see them with her own eyes.

Currently, she was sitting on top of her suitcase in the bus station. It would take her to the nearest village, place called National Park. There she could find a place to sleep for few days while she spent her days hiking around and over these mountains. She was already getting excited.

It only took 5 hours to get to the Tongariro National Park and when she exited the bus, it was already dark outside. She was sad. She was hoping to see the great sights that were in her Lonely Planet book.

She sighed and took her belongings and walked towards her accommodation. The little village truly was small. Growing up in New York area, she had become used to the hustle and bustle of the big metropolis. But this in here was just few streets and rows of building in the middle of nowhere. And everything was quiet. She hadn't felt this quiet in her mind in a really long time.

She found her chosen hostel very soon. It wasn't too far from the bus stop and she walked there in no time. The owner greeted her with a smile and soon she had a key for her room and she made her way there.

The hostel was quite empty. Not a lot of people around. It was midweek, the owner had explained. And in summertime it was a little bit quieter in this tiny village than in the winter. Apparently there was a ski field close to the village and it kept the tourism industry around it busy most of the year.

To her luck, she had a room with a toilet and she didn't have to share it with anybody. It had a double bed in there and a little drawer but nothing else. Even though the room seemed a little bit run down, she was happy with her choice. The night was still young and she decided to go on a little walk around the small village. She knew it would not take much time.

Kate stepped outside and marveled the colder mountain air. The atmosphere around the mountains was not so damp and hot anymore and it was a sweet relief. The sky was clear and she could see all the stars.

She gasped loudly. There were so many stars in the sky! She could even see the Milky Way running across the sky! She had never seen so many stars. But then again she had grown up in the city most of her life. Yes, she remembered the trips to her father's cabin in Maine but she couldn't remember ever seeing anything like this.

The downside of this amazing sight was that there were no familiar stars for her to recognize. After full five minutes of gazing, she located the Orion. But that was about it. She smiled. At least something was familiar.

She had to pinch herself every time she remembered she was in New Zealand. The little she had seen so far had amazed her. It was of course somewhat similar to the landscapes of United States. But in the other hand, she had not travelled far away from her home state and she hadn't been everywhere yet, so these rolling hills and mountains she had seen from the bus window amazed her to no end.

She smiled to herself again and continued her journey through the sleepy, dark village. There was nobody on the streets walking, she was just alone and that feeling was exiting as well as a bit creepy. Anything could happen in the dark. Her face darkened at that thought. And she remembered the circumstances of her mom's death. She shuddered at the thought of it. All of a sudden the walk in the dark didn't seem like a good idea. She started going back to her hostel at a more hurried place than she intended.

She reached to her room just before her panic attack kicked in. It wasn't good. She locked herself to her tiny bathroom and tried to breathe as calmly as possible but it felt impossible. She shuddered against the cold wall of the shower cabin until she felt her muscles relaxing and her breathing coming more evenly.

All of a sudden she felt tired to the bone. Luckily, this time it was not as bad as it could have been. She had lived through worse episodes before. But she still couldn't stand it. She showered herself quickly, feeling the need to rid herself of the remnants of the attack. In the end, she crashed into her bed and slept. Yet even her sleep wasn't calm; it was full of memories and pain.

* * *

The morning greeted her with a headache. She grumbled when she opened her eyes. She didn't feel good. After a long while, she fished some painkillers out of her bag and swallowed them with a mouthful of water.

Since it was still dark outside, she decided not to move from the bed. There was no point, nothing would be open and she would have nowhere to go. She closed her eyes in an hope to find some peace of mind. In the end, she woke up with a start few hours later, when sun was shining into her eye.

"Shit," she grumbled. The sun was out now; the morning was in full swing. She glanced at her watch on her bedside table and it was about 9 o'clock. It was time to get up

She had planned to go to climb to the top of Mount Ruapehu, per the advice of the hostel owner. He was a local and knew it would be a nice thing to do on a nice summery January day as it was today. She opened the curtains and the world greeted her with light and a blue sky. It was indeed a perfect day. She quickly dressed herself and grabbed her small bag for short trips and made her way downstairs where she knew there would be breakfast waiting for her. And it was.

She ate quickly and almost next to nothing as she didn't have any appetite. Her still present migraine was the thing to blame for that. But she knew she had to eat at least something. Silently she prayed that the painkillers would kick in soon and she could actually enjoy her day.

Finishing up her orange juice, she stood from the table and went outside to wait for the shuttle to the mountain. It didn't take long at all for the small bus to arrive and she ended up being one of three people heading up the mountainside. The Japanese couple looked at her with a smile and greeted her with a nod. She smiled a polite smile to them and settled herself on a separate seat.

The journey to the mountain lasted for twenty minutes. When the small shuttle started climbing up the windy roads, Kate could see the views out of the window. Even with her headache, which was already receding a bit, it felt amazing. The vegetation around the active volcano was still short and sparse. She could not spot many trees, as they got higher. The hillsides were dotted with short bushes, grass and mostly volcanic rocks. When they reached the the ski field, it was just rocky surface everywhere. It looked like something out of a scifi movie – a planet in a galaxy far, far away.

To her surprise, there was a lot of cars and buses near the small ski field. The man from the hostel had said that there would be only few people up the mountain, so Kate looked quizzically at the driver, "So many tourists in here?"

Driver just shook his head. "No, not tourists. This belongs to a film crew."

"A film crew?"

"Yes, they are filming some kind of fantasy movie in here. I don't know exactly, mate."

"Fair enough," Kate nodded and kept looking outside of the window. Soon the shuttle stopped in front of the reception building and both Kate and the Japanese couple climbed out of the tiny bus.

She went in and purchased a ticket to go up the ski lifts. There was no snow around the ski field, only rocks and boulders.

Some shouting draw her attention further downhill. There was a big camera crew in the opening in the mountain. In the slopes of the lower mountain, there were people in golden armor running around with their swords and bows, playfully killing the people who were dressed as some kind of slimy monsters.

Kate just stared at all of this commotion with her mouth open.

To be fair, she had seen movies being shot around New York. Hell, there had even been a small crew filming a documentary around her university, but this was something new for her. Fantasy, the bus driver had said.

She was so immersed to watching the movie being shot from her viewpoint up the mountain, she did not notice a man stopping next to her.

"Hey," she heard a sudden voice next to her.

She jumped. She wasn't expecting that. She looked quickly at the source of the sound. He seemed very familiar but she couldn't pinpoint where.

The man's smile suddenly turned into confused grimace, until she saw him smiling again.

"It's you!" he beamed.

"It's me?" Kate asked with a little trepidation in her voice.

"It's you, from the beach. The green stone girl," he kept smiling.

"The Green stone girl?" Kate asked, still confused and still a bit anxious.

"I gave you the green stone, remember. I told you it was lucky," the man laughed.

"Ah. That. Yes." Kate nodded.

While the man seemed to be not so threatening, she still had her guard up. She didn't need anybody. Not today, not in the near future.

"Fancy seeing you here. Did you come up to see them film the movie as well?" He asked, a glint of joy in his eyes.

"No I didn't. I didn't know there was a film crew up here before I came here," she mumbled.

"You didn't?" he asked, surprised.

She only shook her head.

"So you are not here because of them like I am?" he asked.

"No," Kate answered yet again with a shake of her head.

"So you don't know what's going on then?"

"No, not really," she shook her head, focusing her attention to the filming.

"I just found out that they were filming here before I arrived. That's why I am here," He chuckled. "See, they are filming one of my childhood favorite books. The Lord of the Rings."

The title rang a bell in somewhere in her memories. She had read something about it when she was younger but she couldn't remember it. She wasn't a big fantasy fan to begin with. Scifi was more of her thing.

"I think I have heard of it. The books I mean."

"Good, good," the man mumbled. "I wanted to see this myself. It's an historic moment."

Kate was a bit confused at that. "Why it is historic. It's just a movie?"

The man raised his hand animatedly and started to tell a story. "No, believe me, it's not just a movie, it's a fantasy world. I used to escape into Middle-Earth when I was a child. So rich in detail, so wonderful. Nobody has ever dared to put these into movies, because it's almost impossible. Except that guy over there."

He pointed towards the direction of the film crew. Kate stared at them eyebrow raised.

"Peter Jackson. A director. I hope they will do the movie justice." He finished, settling himself next to her.

"Oh, okay." She nodded, not knowing what to say after this monologue. He seemed to be extremely interested in what was going down the mountain. Now, after hearing his description, she was starting to get interested as well.

"Were you going up the ski lifts, to Knoll's Ridge?" He asked.

Kate nodded with a shy smile. "I was planning to, I got distracted."

"Good, I was going there too." He stepped away from her, towards the lifts. "Shall we?"

She stood there for a second, deciding what to do. On one hand, she didn't need company. But on the other hand, she could put up with this guy for a little longer.

She nodded shyly. "Sure, why not?"

She wasn't really sure what was going to happen, but she decided to go with the flow. Having a coffee on top of an active volcano didn't sound too bad. She turned towards the man to look at him. He nodded and smiled at her again as they started to walk towards the lifts.


	3. Chapter 3

Kate sat in silence. She watched the guy she met at the counter of Knoll's Ridge café ordering them some coffee and muffins. She smiled faintly. She usually didn't do things like this – go out with strangers and have cup of coffee with them. But something in this guy peaked her interest.

Rick – she had found out his name on the way up – was a chatty man. He had handled most of the conversation on their short journey up the cafeteria, while Kate just had smiled and answered to him in small sentences. She didn't know what to do with his bubbling and sparkly energy but she was willing to give him a shot. Nothing he had said or done so far was harmful, yet. Quite the opposite. He was actually charming and funny.

She was suddenly jarred out from her thoughts when Rick promptly sat in front of her, two coffees in his hands. He slid one of the cups towards her and she reached for it with a grateful smile.

"The drink of the gods," he commented and smiled, while taking a sip of the dark nectar.

"I agree," Kate agreed with a soft mumble.

They sat there in comfortable silence for a while, looking outside of the jagged edges of the volcanic mountain and the people walking by. The nature around them was bleak and as far as she could see, only rocks. But the view from the place was breathtaking. She could see miles and miles, above and below the clouds.

"So," Rick finally broke the silence with a curious stare at her direction.

"So?" Kate answered.

The guy smiled softly.

"What is a girl like you doing in New Zealand?" he asked, his voice soft as honey.

"A girl like me?" she answered, a smile clearly audible in her voice.

"You know, young, successful looking. In all intense and purposes, you should not be here."

"Where should I be then?" Kate asked, her eyebrow raising up.

"A girl like you should be somewhere graduating university," he paused, eyeing her for a second. "Most smart, good-looking women become lawyers, not world travellers. And yet, here you are, why?

Kate furrowed her brows. She didn't like where this discussion was going. But at the same time, she was willing to give him a shot. She sensed a certain degree of cockiness in him and she decided let him play his game. It _was_ , so obviously, a game for him.

"I don't know. You tell me, because you seem to know the answer?"

"Well, you're not Bridge and Tunnel - no trace of the boroughs when you talk, so that means Manhattan. That means money. You went to college. You had options. Yeah, you had lots of options. Better options. And you still chose this, travelling the world. Alone. That tells me something happened. Not to you, you're wounded, but you're not that wounded. It was someone you cared about. It was someone you loved. And…" his speech faltered when he noticed the look of dread on her face. "… and that's why you are here, Kate. Escaping from the world, hiding away so you could mourn in peace."

Kate swallowed forcefully, biting down the tears. She was not willing to cry in front of the stranger. "Cute trick. But don't think you know me."

She stood up abruptly and walked away from the table, towards the exit. She couldn't stand to be there. He had been a hundred percent right but this didn't mean that she could have stayed there and listened to him talk.

Her mom's death was still fresh, it was a wound in her soul that needed a patching up. It wasn't right to talk about this. Not yet. And he had crossed over that invisible line and broken her naïve trust.

Her feet had carried her to the edge of another set of ridges that stood not far from the Café. She just needed to breathe. In few minutes she would take the ski lift down the mountain and go back to the lodge, to her room and then she could cry. Not crying here, not crying now.

"Kate," she heard a deep voice coming behind her and she jerked. She didn't expect him to follow her.

"Kate," he tried again, when she didn't turn around. "I am sorry. I did not want to hurt you in any way. It was just a wild guess. A writer's overactive imagination. That's what I am. A writer. I think up things and write them down."

She didn't answer; she even didn't turn around and focused on her breathing.

"I didn't know I would hit so close to home," he murmured softly. "I would not have done this if I had known, Kate."

Kate turned herself around slowly and looked at him. His blue eyes were sorrowful and she felt herself forgiving him a little bit. She didn't even know why. She just stared at him for few long seconds and saw his expressive face gearing up for more words.

"I promise, I will not touch that topic ever again. If you just stay here for a while… In this cafeteria. With me… for a little bit more," he stuttered under her sharp gaze. He didn't know what to do with his hands so they just fidgeted around his pockets.

Kate breathed in deeply and nodded. "I don't want to talk anything like this with you."

Rick nodded energetically, the sorrow in his eyes turning into hope.

"I am sorry I brought this up in the first place. Never my intention."

Kate nodded slowly as an answer.

"Okay," she whispered. "I will stay for a little bit more."

The smile that Rick gave her then could have blinded half of the world, Kate thought. She smiled back to him, small one, but she did nevertheless.

Rick turned around with a nod and started walking slowly back to the Knoll's Ridge Café, looking back every few steps to see if Kate was following him. And sure enough she did and they reached to their patio table in no time. The Cafeteria was still half empty, only people she could see were few of the workers around the food isle.

"So, what are your goals in New Zealand, if I may ask?" Rick started the conversation again, obviously trying to shake the uncomfortable air around them.

Kate stiffened at the question and Rick's eyes got wide when he thought back to the question.

"No, no, noo," he amended. "I meant where do you want to go?"

"Ah," Kate gave a strained smile, still stiff. "I don't really know yet."

"How much time do you have here?" Rick prodded forward.

"A year," she sighed, leaning back in the chair, sipping some more of the coffee and relaxing. The conversation lulled, because of the food arriving to the table. Rick gave the waitress one of his good smiles and thanked the girl.

Nachos and muffins, that's what he had ordered.

"I hope it's good," Rick said, digging into the chips. "I haven't had any food yet so it's one decent meal today. Probably the only meal."

Kate furrowed her brows. "Why so?"

Rick continued eating the chips while Kate was eyeing the muffins. He explained, "I was driving from Rotorua today. Long ride. I was hoping to reach Whanganui but I don't think it will happen."

"What's in Whanganui?" Kate asked.

"One of my friends lives in there. I wanted to surprise him today but it seems I have spent most of the day wandering around and doing sightseeing that I am not gonna reach him today. It's like another few hundred miles to go."

"Ah," Kate nodded. "It's quite late in the day. I agree. Where are you gonna stay then?"

"Is there any accommodation near here?" he turned his eyes from the nachos to her.

"Yeah, there is a small village close here, that's where I am staying," she smiled weakly.

"Oh really?" Rick smiled enthusiastically. "Are you staying here for long? I mean this village?"

"I haven't decided yet. I just arrived and spent a night in here. But I like this area. It has a lovely feeling to it. I was thinking of asking for work around here. But if there is not any work available, I would move to somewhere else."

Rick nodded as he digested the new information. "Have you decided where to go next?"

Kate shook her head. "Not really. I just know that I want to stay away from the cities for a while."

"Why so?" Rick asked, confusion shining in his blue eyes.

"I don't know. To be fair, I grew up in New York, I am used to the hustle and bustle. But I am in a whole different country at the moment; I would like to experience it in a whole different way."

Rick nods at this and enthusiastically shoves some more chips into his mouth, making Kate chuckle.

"What?" he asks with his mouth full.

"Nothing," she tries to hide her smile.

"It was not nothing," Rick laughs, now his mouth empty of food. He asks dramatically, "Did you laugh at my speedy way of eating?"

"I call it inhaling, but … you know, potato, potato."

"It's still the same word," he throws her a glance.

"Exactly my point," she smirks.

Rick sighs and smiles. "I have to give you that."

Then he furrows his eyebrows and looks at her confusedly. "Why are you not eating? I ordered this all for the both of us."

Kate laughs softly at that. "I thought you were hungry."

He huffs at that. "I am, but still – go for it, taste the nachos, they are pretty good."

"Allright," Kate smiles at him and reaches for the chip that is covered with gooey cheese and avocado paste.

She pops it into her mouth and revels on the taste. She looks towards Rick for a second and notices his eyes darkening. It shoots a wave of warmth through her system and feels a small blush creeping into her cheeks.

"It's really good," she murmurs.

"Yeah," Rick agrees with a nod. "Yes, it is."


End file.
